Antivibration device for vehicles.



' E. V-. HARTFORD.

ANTIVIBRATION DEVICE FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. II, 1912;

1,200,191. I Patented 001s. 3,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESS/58 g flwf ron fill/WM fl f mom/Er E. V. HARTFORD.

ANTIVIBRATION DEVICE FOR VEHICLES.

I APPLICATION FILED NOV-11,1912- I LQOQJQL Patented Oct. 3,1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2- miilljlllllilll WITNESSES 1 nwsmn ATTORNEY T D sra rns rare onrrcn.

EDWARD v. HARTFOBD, or DEAL, NEW-JERSEY.

ANTIVIBRATION, DEVICE FOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 11, 1912. Serial No. 730,548. I

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD V. HART- rom), a citizen of the United States, residing at Deal, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Antivibration Devices for Vehicles, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying, sheets of drawings, forms a full, complete, and concise description.

This invention relates to anti-vibration devices, and particularly to that class which is commonly known in the art-as the friction type, wherein a gradually increasing resistance is interposed between the movable parts of a body to which it is attached to its parts and their coiiperative relation, will combine the essential qualities of lightness and simplicity of construction, while at the same time possessing unusual strength and durability.

My invention further contemplates the provision of an antivibration device, the parts of which are of simple construction and may, therefore, be cheaply manufactured and assembled with the greatest'facility, the friction-producing members and the tension means for maintaining those members in frictional engagement being housed within a weatherproof and dustproof casing which prevents corrosion and reduces the necessity for adjustments or replacements of parts to a minimum.

Briefly stated, my invention comprises a casing or housing within which is mounted a plurality of superposed disks in frictional contact, certain of said disks being in positive engagement with said casing and movable therewith, while the remaining disks are adapted to receive a step-by-step or graded motion in a direction relatively opposite to the direction of movement of the disks engaged by said casing," and adjustable tension means for exerting and distributing a predetermined uniform and conin cross-section, the lugs stantpressure over the entire areas of the contiguous surfaces of the disks.

I will now roceed to describe my invention with re erence to the accompanying drawings and then point out more particu larly the essential elements thereof in the annexed claims.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a front elevation of my device showing the arms or levers employed for attaching it to the'parts of a vehicle or other body. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a cross-section showing the arrangement of the friction disks and correlated parts; Figs. 4 and 5 are plan views of easing illustrating the means for retaining the disks in operative position therewithin; Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a detail plan viewand elevation of the core shown in cross-section in Fig. 5; Figs. 8 and'9 are plan views of the types of disks employed in connection with my invention; and Fig. 10 is-a section of the core illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 showing,

disks positioned therein.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, in which like characters of reference are employed to designate similar parts throughout the several views, the numeral 7 represents a casing of any suitable shape desired, but which is preferably of the configuration shown, having a cap 8 of the cooperating i adapted to engage the screw-threaded portion 9 of said casing to form a dustproof and weatherproof housing for the operative parts ofmy device and forother specific purposes, as will be hereinafter apparent,

said cap 8 being provided with a knurled rim 10 to facilitate its adjustment upon said casing 7. The casing 7 and its cap 8 are centrally apertured to form the bearings 13 and 14: wherein the core-piece 15 is rotatably mounted, each of the said bearings 13;and 14 being provided .with a suitable lubricantretaining packing ring 16, seated in an annular groove or recess 17 (Fig. 3).

Preferably located at' equi-distant points on the interior of the casing 7 and extending from top to bottom thereof, I provide a plurality of grooves or recesses 18, which are adapted to receive the corresponding lugs or projections 19, formed on the peripheries of the friction disks 20, and lock them incooperative engagement with said casing. These friction disks 20 are each provided with a central opening, as shown at 21, the openings 21 being of a diameter which will allow :the disks 20 to be passed. freely over the flange or hub 22, located on and intermediate of the ends of the corepiece 15 to facilitate the assembling of my device and to permit free rotary motion of the core-piece 15 with respect to said disks 20, when in operative position in its bearings 13 and 14. a

The disks 20 are preferably made of one of the softer metals, such as brass or the like, the. area of the disks and the number employed being dependent upon the size of the device and the maximum degree of stress under which it is designed to render eflicient service, and are superposed within the casing 7, their lugs 19 being in engagement therewith in the manner heretofore explained. Altern'ately interposed between the disks 20, and of the same circumferential area as said disks, ll provide or projections 24, protruding into the cen-' tral orifice 25 thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 8, all of these lugs or projections 24 being preferably of the configuration shown and of a uniform length, but of graded widths oneach of the individual disks 23 and are adapted to fit within and be engaged by the grooves or recesses 26 formed on the flange or hub 22 of the core-piece 15, the-projections of the lowermost disk 23 having substantially the same transverse area as the grooves or recesses 26, so that said disk is normally in positive engagement with the flange portion of said core-piece 15, they remaining disks of the set being mounted alternately withinthe casing with the disks 20, the lugs on the respective disks 23 being normally positioned within the recesses or grooves 26 as shown in Fig. 10. It will therefore be apparent that when the corepiece 15 is rocked or rotated in its bearings 13 and 14, a rotary motion will simultaneously be imparted to the lowermost disk 23, which is in positive engagement with the flange portion of the core-piece, through the medium of its lugs 24, the remaining disks 23, being positively engaged and brought into coacting relation with said core-piece in sequence, corresponding to the gradations of their respective sets of lugs or projections 24.

tact over their entire surface areas.

The juxtaposed surfaces of the two sets of superposed disks 20 and 23, are held in constant and positive frictional contact by a spider or 'star spring 27, having a plurality of radial arms 28, bearing upon the upper surface of the contiguous disk at equidistant points thereon, thereby exerting a normally uniform pressure upon the pile of disks and maintaining them in positive con- This spider or star spring 27, it will be noted, is housed within a chamber formed by a recess or cavity 29, in the cap 8 and the adjacent or topmost disk, the body thereof conforming to the configuration of and bearing against the abutment 30 on the underside of the top portion of said cap 8, the said spring being held in position by the core-piece 15, which passes through the opening 31 in the body thereof.

It will be manifest from the foregoing that T have produced a device wherein the tension means and the frictional governing elements are wholly inclosed within a housing which renders them impervious to the variations of the atmosphere and to dust, the lubrication of the parts being effected by the lubricated packing rings 16 in the core piece bearings and the oil ducts or channels 44, located on one of the surfaces of each of the disks 23, thereby assuring efficient operation of the device and reducing the wear and the consequent necessity for adjustments and replacement of parts to a minimum. Furthermore, the tension of the spring 27 and the corresponding pressure exerted on the pile of disks may be simply and accurately regulated by screwing up or unscrewing the cap 8, on the'threaded portion 9, of the casing 7, the abutment 30 on the cap 8 bearing against the spring body and causing the gradual distortion of its radial arms 28 as the tension is increased, the cap 8 being locked against further movement, when the desired pressure has been obtained, by the lug 32 projecting from the plate 33, detachably secured to the side of the casing 7, which registers with and engages one of the several notches 34, located on the rim of said cap 8.

For operatively attaching my device to the movable parts of a body or object, such,

for instance, as to the body and running ear respectively of a motor-vehicle, where it is especially desirable, in fact, highly essential to the life of the vehicle and the comfort of its occupants to eliminate or counteract the shock of sudden or abrupt relative movements of the running gear and body, due to irregularities or obstacles in the road, against the tension of the ordinary means of suspension interposed therebetween, T preferably form inte ral with the casing 7 or otherwise rigi ly secure thereto, a lever or arm 35, the free end of which is adapted to be pivotally attached to the body portion of the vehicle, any well known friction coupling, such as a stud carrying a plurality of washers in frictional engagement, being employed for the purpose. Similarly attached to the runnin gear or chassis of the vehicle is a bifurcate 'lever 36, the arms.37 and 38 thereof being keyed to the ends of the core-piece 15,' which are cut away to form the preferably hexagonal key-pieces 39, said arms being pro vided with openings 40 conforming to the configuration of said key-pieces, and being held in rigid engagement therewith by the tightening or screwing up of the nut 41, on the bolt 42, which is seated in the central bore 43 of the core-piece 15, the nut and bolt respectively being larger than the openings 40 and bearing directly upon the sides of the arms 37 and 38, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

It will-at once be apparent from the foregoin description that upon the vehicle to whic my improved antivibration device is applied encountering an inequality or obstacle in the road which causes a relative movement of the running gear or chassis and the suspended or body portion thereof against the tension of the usual elastic suspension means, the bifurcated lever 36, pivotally mounted in frictional engagement with the running gear or chassis and rigidly secured in cooperative'engagement with the core-piece 15, and the arm or lever .35 formed integral with the casing 7 and frictiona'lly connected to the body portion of the vehicle, will move relatively opposite to each other,- the bifurcated lever 36 rocking the core-piece 15 in its bearin s in the casing .7, which is likewise rocke or rotated by the movement of the lever 35 in a direction relatively opposite to that of the corepiece 15. All of the disks 20 being normally in positive engagement with the casing 7 will, therefore, rotate correspondingtherewith, while the disks 23, which are actuated by the core-piece 15, will receive motion therefrom in sequence as the graded lugs 24 of the respective disks are brought into positive engagement with the'recessed portions of the flange or hub 22 of the corepiece 15, in the manner hereinbefore explained. The effect of this arrangement will be to create a frictional resistance which will increase step by step, as one after the other of the disks 23 is brought into cooperative and frictional engagement with the core-piece 15 and the contiguous disks 20, the degree of resistance being governed or controlled by the'forc e of the shock or impact and the consequent extent'of and relative movement of the bifurcated lever 36 and the arm 33, a slight shock causing a corresponding relative movement of the tween the parts of a degree of frictional resistance co-exten'sive with the area traversed by the frictionally-engaged surfaces 'of the disks 20 and 23 in their relatively duce a reliable and extremely durable antivibration device, but one which will be responsive to the slightest oscillations or vibrations of the parts of the vehicle or the like to which it is applied, thereby obviating,

the objections heretofore raised to devices of this character. Furthermore, the various parts of my invention may be cheaply manufactured and assembled with the greatest facility, the housing of all of the operative parts within the casing producing a dustproof and weatherproof arrangement which reduces to a minimum or eliminates the possibility of its efficiency becoming impaired by reason of the accumulation of dirt or other foreign matter upon the frictionallyoperated or other parts.

I have described my invention with reference to the specific construction herein shown, but I do not limit myself to those specific details'of structure, as the same may be deviated from in various ways to produce the desired result without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new herein and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An antivibration device for vehicles comprising a movable casing, having an extending arm formed integral therewith and for pivotal connection to a part of the vehicle, a cap threaded onto said casing, said cap and said casing being centrally apertured to provide bearing surfaces, a core.

piece having an enlarged central hub portion rotatably mounted in said bearings, the

periphery of said hub portion being formed with grooves, a' plurality of disks superposed within said casing, the outer periphcry of certain of said disks being provided trally apertured and provided with inwardly directed grooves I projections on the latter disks being of gradrojections adapted to engage the ormed insa id hub portion, said uated sizes, whereby, upon the rotation of said core piece, said disks will receive molevers 36 and 35 and the interposition betion therefrom in sequence, lubricating ducts formedon said disks in engagement with said hub portion, a. spider spring loosely mounted on one end of said core piece in engagement with the interior of said cap and having its arms in contact with the contiguous surface of one of said disks, the tension of said spring being capable of regulation I by the manipulation of said cap to apply a arm formed integral therewith and adapted for pivota'l connection with a part of a vehicle, a cap threaded on to said casing, said cap and said casing being centrally apertured to provide bearing surfaces, a core piece, having an enlarged central hub portion, journaled in said bearings and protruding beyond said casing and said cap respectively, a bifurcated arm having one of it's members keyed to each end of said core piece, the shank of said arm being capable of pivotal connection with another part of a vehicle, a stack of disks within said casing of a height coextensive with the height of said hub, a free space being thereby provided between the uppermost disk and the interior of said cap, and a spider spring inclosed within said space, the body of saidv spring being in engagement with said cap and the arms of said spring being disposed upon-the surface of the adjacent disk, and

means for keying certain of said disks to said casing to rotate therewith, the remaining disks being normally in loose engage ment with said hub portion, whereby upon a relative movement of the vehicle parts to which said arms are connected, said casing and said core piece will be rotated in opposite directions, the disks in engagement with said hub being thereby functioned in sequence to produce a gradually increasing frictional resistance to the movement of vthe vehicle parts, the frictional resistance of said device being capable of adjustment by the manipulation of said cap to efiect a variation in the tension of said spring.

3. An anti-vibration device for vehicles, comprising a movable casing, a cap therefor threaded on to said casing, a core piece having bearings in said casing and said cap and provided with an enlargedhub portion, supported by and in frictional engagement with the base of said casing and said cap, a stack of disks within said casing of a height coextensive with the height of said hub, a chamber being thereby provided between the uppermost disk and the interior of said cap,

and a spider spring on said core piece and in engagement with said cap and the surface of the uppermost disk, whereby said spring may expand and contract within said chamber upon the manipulation of said cap, to exert pressure upon said stack of disks and maintain all of "themin constant frictional contact, and means for operating certain of said disks in relatively opposite directions to produce frictional resistance.

4. An anti-vibration device for vehicles comprising a bifurcated arm adapted for pivotal connection with one part of a vehicle, a core piece supported between the free ends of said arm, said core piece having an enlarged hub formed thereon intermediate of its ends, and provided with recesses extending inwardly from its periphery, a plurality of superposed disks adapted to surround said hub and having extensions of graduated widths for engagement with the walls of said recesses, a housing having an arm formed integral therewith for connection to another part of the vehicle and formed with an interior supporting surface for a stack of disks, a plurality of disks adapted for positive engagement with said housing, the latter disks and the disks in engagement with said hub being alternately disposed and of a height coextensive with the height of said hub, to form a chamber between the uppermost disk and the interior of said housing, a spider spring mounted on said core piece within said chamber and applying constant uniform pressure upon the stack of disks, said core piece having bearings in said housing, whereby upon the relatively opposite movement of said at taching arms, the two sets of disks will rotate in relatively opposite directions, those adapted to be engaged by the hub of said core piece being engaged in sequence and gradually varying the frictional'resistance between the two sets of disks.

'5. An anti-vibration device for vehicles, comprising a movable casing, a cap therefor threaded on to said. casing, a part of the interior of said casing being formed to provide a supporting surface, a core piece, rotatably mounted in bearings formed in said casing and said cap, said core piece having an enlarged hub portion intermediate of its ends, a stack of disks disposed within said casing on said supporting surface, the lowermost disk being in frictional contact therewith, and the position of the uppermost disk relative to said cap providing a chamber of the'diameter of said cap, a spider spring mounted on said core piece and inv within said chamber and exert pressure upon the pile of disks; and means for operating certain of said disks in relatively opposite directions to produce frictional resistance.

6. In an anti-vibration device for vehicles, the combination of an attaching arm having a bifurcated end, a core piece supported within said bifurcated end, a housing having a second attaching arm formed integral therewith, said core piece having bearings inthe opposite ends of said housing and extending therethrough, a plurality of disks keyed to said housing to move therewith and a plurality of disks in loose engagement with said core piece and adapted tobe operatively engaged thereby in sequence, said two sets of disks being superposed within said housing, so as to provide a chamber between the uppermost disk and the interior of the adjacent portion of said housing, a spider spring mounted on said core piece within said chamber having its arms disposed upon the uppermost disk in a zone intermediate of its inner and outer housing will rotate in relatively opposite directions and function said disks, the disks,

in engagement with said core piece being engaged thereby in sequence and gradually varying .the frictional resistance.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD v. HARTFORD.

Witnesses A. G. HOFFMAN, 7 WM. PENDER MONTGOMERY. 

